Historically, the highest incidence rates of invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease in the world were found in North American and Australian Indigenous children. Although immunization against H. influenzae type b (Hib) led to a marked decrease in invasive Hib disease in countries where it was implemented, this disease has not been eliminated and its rates in Indigenous communities remain higher than in the general North American population. In this literature review, we examined the epidemiology of invasive H. influenzae disease in the pre-Hib vaccine era, effect of carriage on disease epidemiology, immune response to H. influenzae infection and Hib vaccination in Indigenous and Caucasian children, and the changing epidemiology after Hib conjugate vaccine has been in use for more than two decades in North America. We also explored reasons behind the continued high rates of invasive H. influenzae disease in Indigenous populations in North America. H. influenzae type a (Hia) has emerged as a significant cause of severe disease in North American Indigenous communities. More research is needed to define the genotypic diversity of Hia and the disease burden that it causes in order to determine if a Hia vaccine is required to protect the vulnerable populations.

Serological surveys for diphtheria were conducted in six European countries including Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovakia and one country outside Europe, Israel. For each country, a nationally representative population sample was collected across the entire age range and was tested for antibodies to diphtheria toxin. Although each national laboratory used its preferred assay, the results were all standardized to those of the in vitro neutralization test and expressed in international units (IU) which allowed comparative analyses to be performed. The results showed that increasing age is related to a gradual increase in seronegative subjects (<0·01 IU/ml of diphtheria antitoxin antibodies). This may reflect waning immunity following childhood vaccination without repeated booster vaccinations in adults. Differences in seronegativity were also found according to gender. In subjects aged 1–19 years, geometric mean titres of antitoxin are clearly related to the different vaccination schedules used in the participating countries. Although clinical disease remains rare, the susceptibility to diphtheria observed in these serosurveys highlights the importance of strengthened surveillance.

The diagnosis and epidemiological studies of Q fever depend on serology. Among the main methods employed are the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the immunofluorescent assay test (IFAT). We show that two commercial assays representing the two methods with two different cut-off titres can lead to significant differences in diagnostic and seroprevalence estimates. This in turn emphasizes the need for a standardized gold method to compare the various assays; whether this standard is ‘in-house’ or commercially obtained.